I remember 5-6 years ago we would consider a benefits discussion from a sales candidate a bit of a red flag. If the candidate was asking about benefits early in the process, we became suspicious that they were looking to retire on the company’s payroll. Oh how times have changed. The fact that more of this cost is being pushed to the employee makes this topic a valid one for early in a hiring process. We still prefer to have candidates discuss the commission plan, market position and value proposition, but benefits are a real cost in the equation. From Inc.com comes this article with survey results that are not… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Long Range Planning
Longer sales cycles require salespeople and sales managers with abilities that match that time horizon. This week’s trait is important for any sales position that is asked to navigate an extended sale. Long Range Planning This is the ability to identify long-range goals and design realistic plans to attain them. It is the ability to see the big picture and then determine the direction to take and resources to use to attain future goals. A salesperson with strength in this capacity is able to effectively €œsee into the future,€ forecast needs and comprehend how certain situations or procedures will meet those needs. A weakness in this area might be due… Read More
Continue ReadingRecess For Adults
Salary.com released its annual poll regarding time wasted by employees. It appears that after 3 years of polling, 1.7 to 2.0 hours seems to be the steady average for an 8.5 hour day. The poll seems somewhat silly to me, but I did enjoy these closing graphs: Companies should look on wasted time as comparable to a recess for adults, which can make them more productive in the long run, he said. €œThere is always room for wasting time during the day,€ he said. €œAt some point, you have to step off the treadmill and recharge the batteries. €¦ Not all wasted time is a net loss.€
Continue ReadingMissing The Boat On Blogging
Inc.com’s article Business Owners Rank Internet as Most Important Marketing Tool speaks to the marketing efforts of small companies. The poll only involved 250 business owners so it is a small sample size, but let me unpack the article this way: While e-mail may top the list of Internet-related activities, many small businesses have begun implementing online advertising strategies. Of survey respondents, 59 percent use online ads and 68 percent utilize search engine optimization “sometimes” or “often.” Business owners are making efforts to increase their Internet presence. Forty-four percent say they plan on spending more on Internet tools this year compared to 2006, while 27 percent plan to spend the same amount… Read More
Continue ReadingA Simple Reward For All
Every company can offer a reward similar to what is offered in this Pioneer Press story – Time off is a great summer motivator at small businesses. Simple. Valued. This is a good approach for any business in developing reward programs especially for Gen Y workers (emphasis mine): Owners do have other ways of motivating staffers in the summer, by catering breakfasts or lunches or sponsoring picnics, trips to museums and other social events. The point is to help make working during the summer more palatable, and, more important, to boost morale in a way that will result in increased productivity all year long. … Besides improving morale and motivating… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Most Annoying Office Habits
From Yahoo! Finance comes this article – How Loud is too Loud? As you might guess, the loud phone talker topped the survey as the most annoying office habit. Being an auditory person, I can agree with that one. I’m always telling the Rock Star to use his indoor voice since his voice carries a country mile. Despite the laundry list of complaints, the loud talker wins the award for most annoying. Of 2,318 people surveyed in March 2006 by Harris Interactive and Randstad, 32% say an office loud talker is their biggest pet peeve. Coming in a close second at 30% is using an annoying cellphone ringtone; 22% said… Read More
Continue ReadingTop 4 Suggestions For New Sales Managers
SMT (Sales & Marketing Training) has an article in its recent newsletter that surveyed its members for advice they would give to new sales managers. The author has provided the top 4 pieces of advice: Assessing talent is a first step Coaching the €œcoachable€ spending appropriate time on those individuals Avoid falling into the trap of €œwhat made you successful as a rep€ will make you successful as a manager Setting expectations and goals I couldn’t agree more with these 4 items, especially the first one. The contributors expanded on their suggestions: €œAssess the strengths, weaknesses and development needs of your team. Review your team by your success measures. Set… Read More
Continue ReadingRecruiting Process Affects Your Marketing Efforts?
Yes according to a recent study by Capital Consulting in London. I came across this short little article from Workforce Management in a newsletter. It is a short artice so I will reproduce it in it’s entirety (emphasis is mine): At Least Say Thank You: Shoddy recruiting does more than chase away potential high performers. New research suggests it also may cost companies in the marketplace. Capital Consulting in London says nearly one-quarter of job seekers have been poorly treated when applying for a job, and they frequently take out their frustrations by broadcasting the news far and wide: 31 percent share the bad experience with three to five people,… Read More
Continue ReadingTimeliness Counts!
In the past several weeks I have been working with one of our clients on a sales position that they are desperately trying to fill. On numerous occasions they have said it needs to be filled quickly. I can appreciate this approach, however the actions of the client are not congruent with their words. Let me explain. We have a strong candidate that has interviewed several times in-person and on the phone. Unfortunately, he has been waiting 2 weeks for a follow-up call from one of the managers to set up what he was told would be the final interview. Before you pass judgement think back over your latest hires.… Read More
Continue ReadingCorporate Blogging Violations
From Podcasting News – Nearly One Out Of Ten Companies Has Fired A Blogger: Nearly one out of ten large companies has fired an employee for violating corporate blogging or message board policies, according to a survey conducted by Proofpoint, a company that specializes in corporate messaging security. 19 percent of the companies have disciplined an employee for violating corporate blogging or message board policies. It would be interesting to know what some of the violations entailed. We’re not familiar with what companies use for their blogging policy but we would be most interesting to know what is a typical policy.
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